INSIDE TRAVEL.

Fliers Think Airlines Could Use Some Coaching

Some readers took me up on my invitation to e-mail comments and suggestions for improving travel or flying experiences.

It seems not everyone is pleased with United Airlines' decision to reclassify its "coach" class of service to what everyone else calls the back of the plane--"economy."

Terry Gellerman @Sybase.com says: "I was recently on a flight like that, and mentioned to the flight attendant that I was offended by the change. As a fairly frequent business traveler, I pay top price ($1,800 for a ticket to San Francisco or $1,100 to Dallas) when flying, due to the short notice and duration of the trip. If they are going to call coach class `economy,' then they should bump me up to first class on those flights. I'd bet that most of the first-class passengers aren't paying full price, either."

At least on the second count, Terry's right. Few first-class passengers pay full price on any airline. Many of the so-called first-class denizens are flying on economy or business-class tickets. They've used some frequent-flier miles to upgrade to first class. Many of the remaining first-class passengers are there because they've purchased the ticket as part of a package.

As far as upgrading the frequent business traveler who's paying top dollar but flying economy, at least one airline has announced plans to do just that. St. Louis-based Trans World Airlines says it will begin upgrading to first class and/or reserving the first few rows of economy for its business travelers. When first class is full, the airline says that instead of elbow-to-elbow seating, it will leave the middle seats of those front rows in economy vacant whenever possible.

C.J. Moss @Juno.com says: "I'm a frequent flier and notice people jamming up the entrance to the plane asking where their seat is located. Put a large schematic of the seating of the plane in the (check-in) counter area so people can see where their seat is."

Joe Hopkins, a United spokesman, says a schematic is included in the on-board magazine of United and most of the other major airlines. Unfortunately, it's not much use to people boarding the plane, he agreed. Before deregulation it was standard procedure for airlines to have a seating chart at the check-in counter. That's how people selected their seats. But airlines, in an effort to speed the check-in process, began discouraging requests for specific seats in favor of people expressing a preference for aisles or window. Reinstalling a seating diagram on the plane's bulkhead or near the check-in counter could be considered, Hopkins conceded.

Craig Knauss at ccgate.com., has a better idea for reducing the number of people who frequently stand or wander the aisles of an airliner.

Keeping people buckled in their seats has become a major issue for both United and American, which say they plan to introduce programs later this summer requiring passengers to remain seated and buckled more of the time.

Reducing the number of people standing in the aisles became an issue last Christmas when 83 passengers were injured and one woman was killed on a flight from Tokyo to Honolulu when their Boeing 747 unexpectedly encountered severe turbulence. All but three of those injured were standing in the aisles waiting to use the lavatories.

One suggestion was to eliminate beverage service, which would cut the need to use the lavatories. Craig says, however:

"While reducing beverage service might help, a better approach would be to improve the "seats-to-restroom ratio" in economy class on long-haul flights. Also, reducing the length of nonstop flight legs would help dramatically. I know from experience that more than eight hours in the air can be grueling. Fifteen hours is inhumane. Sometimes, I create itineraries with extra stops just so I can get off the plane once in a while."

Craig has a good idea on both counts. Unfortunately, the airlines are as likely to increase the number of lavatories in economy as they are to increase the space between rows. Stuffing more people into a silver tube means higher profits. What's more, the nation's major airlines have discovered that Americans will suffer almost any indignity if it means getting from point A to point B in two hours rather than the six or eight that driving would require.